News & Updates
World Indigenous Cancer Conference (21 - 23 April 2026, Auckland)
There was much learning from the many brilliant minds who are all contributing to better detection such as early lung cancer screening for at-risk people and, enhanced care pathways for patients and their whānau.
A highlight was the incredible collaboration between Rongoā practitioners (our healers), health professionals (Oncologist and support staff), patients and their whanau. That pilot project demonstrated clear improvements in health related quality of life for the patient and their whanau in the lead up to end-of-life. It was such a beautiful collaboration that provided an alternative to chemotherapy and other challenging treatments that are standard care practices.
Thank you to WICC organisers who provided free registration to Drs Morgan and Manuel. Mauri ora!
hOurHTA: Insights into New Zealand Health Technology Assessment
15 April 2026: Dr Robyn Manuel gave an invited online presentation on her experience of Health Technology Assessment in Aotearoa New Zealand and, an overview of our Health Research Council (NZ) funded study: A Matauranga Māori approach to Health Technology Assessment. The webinar can be viewed HERE.
Engineering New Zealand: 2025 ENVI Award Winners
July 2025: Mahi Maioro Professionals in collaboration with Te Runanga o Ngāti Pikiao are the Inaugural Winners of Te Toa Takitahi Te Ao Māori ENVI Award. Our project involves monitoring the mauri of Lake Rotoiti with real time water quality capture and photographs from the public. These techniques were considered innovative while our relationship with our Iwi fosters deep connection and accountability to empower our hāpori and protect our Wai.
Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi): 2025 Annual Meeting
June 2025: Dr Robyn Manuel contributed to 2 workshops and 1 panel at the HTAi Annual Meeting in Buenos Aires recently. She contributed to the Patient and Citizens' Interest Group's (PCIG) workshop speaking on "Good Practices to Promote Equity Through Patient Involvement".
She joined the Environmental Sustainability in Health Technology Assessment (ESHTA) Working Group of HTAi to present in the workshop titled "ESHTA: A Multidisciplinary Perspective". Other contributing speakers were from the UK, South Africa, Spain and India. Dr Manuel's presentation was aptly named "ESHTA: A Mātauranga Māori Approach".
Finally, Dr Manuel facilitated and spoke on the panel presentation "Indigenous Peoples and Health Technology Assessment" with other panelists from Canada and Te Whenua Moemoea. Dr Manuel's presentation was titled "Māori Involvement in Health Technology Assessment: International Action to Improve Equity".
International Indigenous Research Conference
(University of Auckland)
November 2024
Ko Rotoiti Te Moana
This project brings together Ngāti Pikiao epistemology with innovative real-time water monitoring technology, crowd-sourced photos, marae surveys, and intergenerational knowledge transfer. The goal is to strengthen Ngāti Pikiao rangatiratanga over the mauri of their tupuna (ancestral) lake. Drs Te Rina King-Hudson and Kepa Morgan gave the audience a walk-through of the online dashboard, which presents real-time changes in terms of mauri.
Regular and holistic mauri monitoring supports Ngāti Pikiao as hunga-tiaki to help realise the mauri ora of Te Roto Whaiti I kitea e Ihenga i ariki ai a Kahumatamomoe (Lake Rotoiti) for present and future generations.
November 2024
Ka Mua, Ka Muri: Historical timelines through ngā tirohanga Māori
This presentation was given by Dr Olly McMillan and focused on the development of historical timelines for two recent Mahi Maioro projects. The first project, on the Waiāri River, looked at historical changes to the rohe and the river from the perspective of Tapuika Iwi. Their historical timeline provides context on a current day water-take from the awa (river).The second project, Rotoitipaku, looked at a historical assessment of changes to mauri as a result of landfilling activities on a culturally significant site. The cumulative impacts over time experienced by Iwi and Hapū members provides a basis for developing a remedial strategy for the future. Within the talk, Dr Kēpa Morgan also discussed recent workshops on cumulative assessment using Indigenous-based principles with First Nations in British Columbia, Canada.
Dr Te Kipa Kēpa Brian Morgan receives Distinguished Fellow of Engineering New Zealand (Wellington, 2022)
Te Kīpa Kēpa Brian Morgan (Ngāti Rangiunuora, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Rongomai, Ngāti Makino, Te Arawa) is a prominent Māori engineer, academic, and leader in sustainable infrastructure and Indigenous knowledge systems. His work bridges traditional Māori perspectives with modern engineering, earning him recognition as a Distinguished Fellow of Engineering New Zealand (Te Ao Rangahau) in 2022, the highest shared honour in the engineering profession in Aotearoa.
July 2022: The mauri-0-meter takes data from an Adroit Environmental IoT monitoring system and overlays that within a cultural health monitoring perspective to monitor the waters of Rotoiti by combining traditional knowledge and Western measures. The data is loaded to a dashboard specific for Lake Rotoiti and an interpretation of the mauri each component plus the overall mauri is shown. The mauri-0-meter supports Iwi (tribe) and Hapū (sub-tribe) members' understanding of the mauri ora (well-being) of their ancestral lake.
Kēpa Morgan appointed to Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) Strategic Science Advisory Panel
September 2021: Mahi Maioro Professionals Pou Hautū, Dr Kēpa Morgan FEngNZ has been appointed to the Institute of Environmental and Scientific Research (ESR) Strategic Science Advisory Panel. The appointment recognises the contribution that Mātauranga Māori has to offer to environmental and scientific research and coincides with a concerted effort by ESR to make Mātauranga Māori a part of their DNA. Te Hiku Media interviewed Kēpa on his new appointment on 17 September.
Ngati Pikiao Engineer receives IPENZ Supreme Technical Award
Mission Impossible? - Returning the Mauri of the ecosystem to its 'pre-Rena disaster' state
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